Television devices such as LCD or Plasma televisions are becoming more sophisticated each year. Already, most have a processor and memory and a remote control as an input device. Soon, many television devices will have Internet connections and mass storage devices (e.g., disk drives). The Internet connection and storage will be used for many purposes, including the download and storage of content (e.g., movies). The television devices have or will have input ports or other types of connections, either wired or wireless for the connection of devices such as phones, cameras, storage devices, printers, music players, etc.
In some homes and businesses, the television is simply connected to a content source such as cable or, simply an antenna, but more often, there are many other devices connected to a television. For example, in order to receive high-definition television broadcasts, the television is likely connected to a set-top box. Due to the limited speaker size and audio capabilities of most televisions, they are often connected to external amplifiers and speaker systems. Other forms of content are often connected to the television such a disk players (DVD, Blueray), Video Cassette Recorders (VCR) and music/video players.
Most of these connected devices operate independently and are unaware of each other. For example, when the television changes from an input connected to a game system to an input connected to movie content, the amplifier is not aware of the change and does not alter its settings. In such a situation, it is desirable to change certain settings in the amplifier to match the television source. For example, the user likes a certain audio response curve for games and a different audio response curve for movies or a different volume level.
There have been attempts at networking television and audio components. For example, some companies have been working to network all components through the power lines using technologies such as Home Power Line Networking Adapters (HPLNA). This movement is largely geared towards reducing the wiring between components and, since most or all components are plugged into AC power, the AC power medium is ideally suited for transferring commands and signals between components. To date, such efforts have been mostly limited to show-room demonstrations and have not succeeded commercially.
For several connection media, a two-way data path and command path is created. For example, the High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) medium includes high-speed data transfer for content but also includes facilities to permit auxiliary information to be transferred between the two connected entities. Current uses of this facility are mostly to identify the connected devices to each other and describe the content being transferred.
What is needed is a television system that will provide control to the connected devices (component systems) when certain events occur.